Welcome to a page at which you have the opportunity to post your thoughts and concerns about mental health care and chemical dependency treatment issues.

That's right! Dr. Sterling wants you to use your best style to write about mental health and substance abuse issues. If you wish, you can request that your article be posted anonymously. This is your chance to rant or rave about mental health care and substance abuse treatment in the context of our society, stigma, politicians, budgets, professionals, or organizations.

All submissions will be treated with care and consideration but, due to Dr. Sterling's limited resources, there is no guarantee that your submission will be posted or responded to. The decision to respond to or post an article on this site is at the sole and absolute discretion of Dr. Sterling. Any submissions that may need editing will be edited and returned to the sender for approval before being posted.

Once your article has been reviewed and approved for posting on this site, it will be given its own page and a link on this page. This page will only contain links to articles that have been posted with a short description of the article.

What is a Soapbox?

A soapbox, according to The American Heritage College Dictionary, is "a temporary platform used while making an impromptu or nonofficial public speech" and "soapboxing" is "to speak one's views passionately."

Hopefully, this will be more than a temporary site. Hopefully, this can be a place where you can speak clearly and passionately about what you consider to be the important issues in the world of mental health and substance abuse.

The List of Posted Articles.

Below are links to posted articles organized by subject matter. Each article has a short description. Links will open in a new window for your convenience.

Emil Colangelo of New York submitted the following fairly comprehensive history of mental health care from ancient times to recent times. Thank you Emilio! (Updated 03/02/06)

Please keep the following disclaimers and guidelines in mind when writing and submitting your article to The Mental Health Soapbox.

Articles must relate to mental health and substance abuse issues and concerns.

Articles that relate more directly to Washington State concerns have a better chance of being posted here. However, as we all know, there are many treatment, stigma, and cultural factors, and federal policies that impact us no matter where we live. Such concerns and issues are very important.

You must declare that the article is yours and not the product of some other person or entity. Please, do not copy someone else's published thoughts and submit them for posting here as if they were your own.

Your article may be posted anonymously, if you request it. However, no articles written by elected officials will be posted anonymously.

Although your article can be posted anonymously if you request it, no articles will be posted unless the author submits their name, address and phone number along with the article. Please keep in mind that only Dr. Sterling reads e-mail sent to him, so the privacy of your submission is assured.

Short articles and comments will generally not be approved for posting.

Raves or rants which do not explain the author's feelings, conclusions, or opinions very well generally will not have much of a chance for being approved for posting.

Articles should be at least 400 words in length and should speak to a particular concern or issue.

Articles should be less than 2000 words in length.

Even if you feel you do not write that well, consider trying to do your best. You don't have to write well to be heard. However, it is important to be civilized, thoughtful and passionate. Dr. Sterling is not just looking for the feelings and thoughts of those who write well. He wishes to post a variety of thoughts and feelings from a wide cross-section of consumers, politicians, advocates, volunteers, and professionals.

The decision to respond to or post an article on this site is at the sole and absolute discretion of Dr. Sterling.

Any submissions that may need editing will be edited and returned to the sender for approval before being posted.

Submissions that, in the sole discretion and opinion of Dr. Sterling, do not require any editing or alteration of any kind, will be posted as is, and Dr. Sterling does not guarantee or warrant, in any way whatsoever, that the author of said article will be notified of such a posting.

Dr. Sterling explicitly does not warrant or guarantee in any way, whatsoever, that he will read or respond to every article sent to him. Such a guarantee is outside of the capabilities and resources of The Mental Health Activist and Dr. Sterling. This service is provided as a volunteer effort only to provide you with a place at which decision makers, politicians and others can view the thoughts and feelings of a wide variety of people so that they can be truly informed of the hot issues and concerns that we all have.

Thank you for considering these guidelines and thank you for your interest in mental health advocacy!